They say that youth is wasted on the young, and it’s not hard to see why. Yes, you’ve got the world ahead of you and endless opportunities with none of the responsibilities, but it’s only as you age that you realise what you had. Young people don’t know what the future holds. They can’t predict that they’ll get a job, fall in love or find some sort of purpose, even though most people do. Still, your emotional health isn’t in torment forever; the restlessness of youth gives way to contentedness in older age.
According to a recent study by the National Council on Aging (NCOA), United Healthcare, and USA Today, baby boomers and seniors remain optimistic that the best years of their lives are ahead of them. This is just one study amongst many that show a profound link between ageing and your emotional wellbeing. Richard Birkel, who leads NCOA’s Centre for Healthy Ageing, explains that the generation interviewed for the study had seen parts of the Great Depession and World War II, which helped to, weirdly, make them more positive. ‘People put things into perspective,’ Birkel says. ‘If you got through those two events in tact, I would have some confidence too that I was able to adjust to pretty much anything.’
Laura Carstensen, director of the Stanford Centre on Longevity, asserts, ‘It’s what’s known as “the paradox of ageing.” There’s a lot of tough things that come with ageing, and people still report that they’re doing fine.’ When you age, your emotional wellness benefits from a “linear decrease” in negative emotions, such as anger and stress, as well as a greater appreciation for life, says Carstensen, ‘so people are better off emotionally—there’s no question there.’ Some researchers map happiness as a “U-shape” that curves down and up over the course of your life. You start of as a kid with no worries, progress to an adult with plenty of responsibilities to stress over, and then after the age of 50 you realise that life is for savouring the precious moments rather than fretting over the opportunities you missed.
Still, why wait until your golden years to attain the wisdom for wellbeing? There are a number of tactics you can implement to boost your overall life satisfaction:
1. Positive acts: According to psychology professor Sonja Lyubomirsky, author of The How of Happiness, research shows that writing letters of gratitude, counting your blessings, performing acts of kindness, and meditating produce positive emotions. She also advises continuous adaptation. This means that if you make a positive change, such as walking to work, you can sustain your satisfaction by taking different routes.
2. Live in the moment: If – or I should say when – you’re faced with the daily hassles of life, Carstensen suggests you gather perspective by asking yourself, ‘Is this going to matter on the last day of your life?’
3. Look forward to what’s in store: Carstensen explains, ‘There’s something about being at an age where you know what you’ve been dealt in life—and it’s OK—and you’ve found your love, and you’ve not only found your love, but you have your children and grandchildren.’ She notes that this satisfaction is ‘richer and deeper and more complex than the emotions that a 12-year-old or a 20-year-old can ever imagine.’ She adds, ‘The paradox of ageing is that realising you don’t have all the time left in the world doesn’t make you sad and miserable; it makes you live in the moment and be appreciative of the day. That’s the secret to happiness.’
Comments are closed.